The Doltswagen
Posted on 11/05/2012 6:20:53 PM PST by AmonAmarth
The debate about the value of electric cars just got another jolt.
In the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, unprepared electic vehicle owners in the Northeast were out of luck. With power grids and public charging stations down there was, and in some places still is no way to get energy into their cars.
According to automotive analyst Thilo Koslowski, the storm has revealed the one major vulnerability with electric cars: that a backup infrastructure is almost non-existent.
“If the outages continue, this will negatively impact consumer interest,” he told FoxNews.com. “We will need to address the issue of electricity shortages if we want to have a growing share of EVs.”
Technology analyst Rob Enderle agrees that the infrastructure problem with EVs is being called into question in the wake of the storm. Early funding for the EV infrastructure has focused on building charging stations at malls and offices, not on disaster-proofing them. If the grid goes dark, he says, there’s no back-up battery storage to keep your EV running.
ChargePoint, which runs one of the largest public charge station networks in the area affected by Sandy did not respond to requests from FoxNews.com to discuss it's contingency plans.
“EVs need infrastructure and low cost batteries to survive -- and they have neither,” he says. “We need some strong advancements in energy storage or generation to truly make electric competitive.”
The automakers themselves are looking for answers, as well.
“As more pure EVs hit the market, consumers will demand solutions to these types of dilemmas and the industry will have to respond,” says Jana Hartline, an environmental manager at Toyota.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Thanks for the information. I recall seeing them when I was a kid (1970s and 1980s).
The Doltswagen
The electric car was invented a very long time ago. The vulnerability was well known for more than a century, and that was before electricity was universally available.
Over a dozen Fisker Karmas and three Toyota Prii caught fire in a New Jersey Port after being submerged in the storm surge.
http://jalopnik.com/5957866/three-toyota-prius-hybrids-also-burned-in-fisker-karma-port-fire
Some old school systems had a lot of value.
But the mechanical pumps were obsoleted when self serve gas came in and they wanted a single clerk to be able to monitor all the pumps from inside, also pay at the pump with credit cards.
Realistically is would not take a huge gen set to power the typical convenience store / gas station and it would give them a real competitive advantage vs those that didn’t have it.
Saw that story another site. The one thing that seems bogus is if those cars had been under 10ft+ of water like the guy claimed they wouldn’t all be lined up nicely like the pic shows.
They would be scrambled all over the place.
I swear steam IS the answer, but it will require another disaster or two to revive it.
Run it on pellet fuel, moonshine, coal for Christs sakes, even wood pallets and dirty baby diapers.
Anything but electric, gas or diesel.
But I would start with diesel, then a steam engine fueled by diesel....one step at a time, as they say, “How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time”
I want one. I love technology (I’m not an Enviro. wacko). I also like the quietness and torque. I have a Hybrid Nissan Altima. Great car!!! I’m just waiting for Obama to lose. Not going to buy one if he is President.
If only we could invent cars that run on a fuel source that is easily transported...maybe a liquid of some sort.
Another MENSA member heard from...
Ignorant and smarmy is no way to go through life.
I know a small business that will convert your car into a natural gas car, and hook up your house gas line to a fill station in your garage, $1 a gallon
I know a small business that will convert your car into a natural gas car, and hook up your house gas line to a fill station in your garage, $1 a gallon
http://cngconnection.com/Page_7.html
I remember seeing the manual pump handle in a gas pump once - the station owner opened the pump’s case to work on something inside the pump. Lo and behold, there was the back-up manual pump handle tucked away inside the casework.
I agree that a convenience store or service station with a generator would be in high cotton during an emergency.
Good to know.
I do have a car that runs off of a 'similar' gas. You could say the car is a "hybrid." It runs off of gasoline and a 'funny' cylinder of compressed gas .....It is one of the most efficient cars on the road....yes I can/do drive this wonder on the road.
While other "hybrids" struggle to burn one gallon of gasoline in 30 miles, mine can burn a gallon of 93 octane in about 7.5 miles in the city....though, it does get about 8 mpg on the highway. What could be more efficient in burning gasoline faster than that?
And for those that need to get that first 1/4 mile under their belt in a hurry - it has a cylinder of funny gas in the trunk; so funny some call it "laughing gas."
Although this costs slightly more than $1 a gallon.
But, just so no one gets upset....I do care about the environment. Which, is why I didn't want to use up rare earth metals like platinum if I didn't have to; ie no catalytic converters for me.
“They would be scrambled all over the place.”
Y’know, I hadn’t thought of that. Insurance scam, maybe?
I know a guy back in the eighties who had a nitrous oxide tank in his souped up Trans Am. Fun Car.
This is a '71 Monte with a 454 stroked/bored - 496....can pass everything but a gas station.
On my way home from work today here in Wasilla, Alaska I saw a pickup truck, it was covered with green graphics saying it is running on natural Gas only, a promo truck I believe.
I wanted to convert my Silverado to Ng this year but thought Alaska would be years from getting NG vehicles, now I can see getting one.
And a steam powered swamp buggy....(which I am building but has a diesel in it)
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